Hospitals merge spells better efficiency, says boss

Lesley Dwyer heads up the newly merged hospitals group

The new head of Norfolk's three main NHS hospitals said their merger into one group could reduce waiting lists and the need to travel outside the county for treatment.

The Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH), The Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) in King's Lynn and the James Paget University Hospital (JPH) in Gorleston operate under their own names but are now collectively called the Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group.

The three hospital trusts are forecasting a £53m gap in their finances by 2029/30.

On her first day as chief executive of the group, Prof Lesley Dwyer said it was not about the money, but about working together more efficiently.

"The job is getting to understand what is important to those local hospitals and their population," Prof Dwyer said.

"The prime reason for coming together under the group formation was actually not about the money.

"It was very much about closer working together, and doing those things that matter such as tackling waiting lists, making sure people are treated quickly in an emergency - making sure though, that we do get better value for the money that we are given."

The NHS hopes the new hospitals group will save money and improve services

While each of the three hospitals will still have a managing director, Prof Dwyer said the "group structure is very much about trying to find those things that we can do at scale - things that we know perhaps are duplicated - but also making sure that we make some of those bigger decisions that despite our best intentions, perhaps over the last few years... that we just haven't done".

But she said it was "very much about making sure that we don't take away the identity of the things that really matter to those local hospitals".

Asked about lengthy waiting lists, Prof Dwyer said: "Currently we do have people who actually leave Norfolk to go and get treatment because we're not able to treat them.

"We're hoping by using the capacity of the three - particularly around elective waiting lists - will mean that the travel people have will actually be within the county.

"It's certainly our intention to use the capacity we have in the three hospitals, that we really do address those long waits."

The NNUH is Norfolk's largest hospital

Peter Passingham, the Eastern regional organiser for the union, Unison, said the merger was causing "a lot of uncertainty among staff".

Asked what the point of the merger was, he said: "Well, I think it's the aspiration.

"We know that the NHS is struggling at the moment... and I think it is the hope to do something which is going to improve the situation, as opposed to something that may actually bring real changes."